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Opinions

The District of Northern Illinois offers a database of opinions for the years 1999 to 2013, listed by year and judge. For a more detailed search, enter the keyword or case number in the search box above.

Judge Timothy A. Barnes

13 B 27271Upon the court’s issuance, sua sponte, of an order to show cause as to why the bankruptcy case of debtor Violeta Jakovljevic-Ostojic should not be dismissed for cause pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 707(a), held: the Debtor’s actions demonstrate a lack of good faith in filing this case and have resulted in an unreasonable delay that is prejudicial to creditors. The court therefore dismisses this case pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 707(a).

Upon the Debtor’s motion to vacate the court’s summary judgment order, held: The Debtor failed to establish sufficient grounds under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59 or 60 to set aside or modify this court’s previous grant of summary judgment based, in part, on a state court judgment. Further, the Debtor failed to show that a transfer of personal property made in alleged satisfaction of the state court judgment, but made prior to the Debtor entering into the judgment, satisfied the judgment for purposes of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(5). The court therefore denies the Debtor’s motion to vacate.

Judge Jacqueline P. Cox

13 B 32174In this Chapter 7 proceeding, the Debtor scheduled a 2013 federal tax refund in the amount of $10,576, of which he claimed $3,000 as an exempt public assistance benefit under 735 ILCS 5/12-1001(g)(1).

Trustee David Leibowitz objected, arguing that the child tax credit does not qualify as a “public assistance benefit” under the Illinois statute which allows debtors to exempt such. In 2003 a bankruptcy court ruled that the nonrefundable portion of the child tax credit was not a public assistance benefit because it was available to higher income taxpayers and that the refundable additional child tax credit was a public assistance benefit that could be exempted because it benefited lower income taxpayers. The Illinois statute does not limit or condition the exemption.

The Court overruled the Trustee’s objection, rejecting the argument that the Illinois statute was meant to benefit lower income individuals only and declined to make the policy choice that a debtor who claimed five personal exemptions/dependents on his tax return while reporting income of $68,824 was too affluent to benefit from the child tax credit. The Illinois exemption statute provides for the exemption of public assistance benefits, without regard to whether they are refundable or are available only to lower income debtors. The Court explained that it is the role of the legislature, rather than the court, to limit the availability of the exemption.

12 B 50628, 13 A 00688In this Chapter 7 proceeding, Plaintiff, the Estate of Stanley Cora, filed an amended adversary proceeding against the Debtor, John C. Jahrling, under sections 523(a)(4), 523(a)(6), 727(a)(3) and 727(a)(5) of the Bankruptcy Code asking that a debt be held nondischargeable and that the debtor be denied a discharge of all debts. Under the 523(a)(4) claim, Plaintiff sought to except from debtor’s discharge a $26,000 debt incurred while the debtor, a licensed attorney, served in a fiduciary capacity as Stanley Cora’s attorney at a real estate transaction. Jahrling was hired to represent Cora, then 90 years of age, in the sale of his home.
Cora’s home was sold for $35,000, about one-third of its value, and the transaction did not provide for the retention a life estate promised to Stanley Cora. After the home was sold, Cora was evicted.

A judgment for $26,000 was entered in state court against the debtor in 2007 on a legal malpractice claim.

The Court entered judgment in favor of the Plaintiff on Count I, and determined that Jahrling’s conduct in representing Cora in the sale of his home without talking to him to discern what Cora wanted and how to accomplish his goal, was a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a law-abiding person as well as any Illinois attorney would observe in Jahrling’s situation. The court also found that Jahrling acted recklessly and in brazen disregard of his fiduciary duty when he ignored his basic duty to communicate with the client, to prepare for the engagement and to pursue his client’s interests diligently.

The Court entered Judgment in favor of the debtor-defendant on the remaining counts, finding that Plaintiff failed to meet its burden of proof on claims under section 523(a)(6) for wilful and malicious injury and section 727 for failure to maintain records and to account for a deficiency or loss of assets.